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This book was readable but pointless. Geared more towards YA might explain the weak storyline. A young girl hears voices telling her to kill people but for the most part everyone she kills is bad. She‘s kind of like a female Dexter. Anyway glad this was a Lending Library Freebie otherwise I never would have picked it up.

While the first section of the story felt slow and often times disjointed due to the multiple points of view, after 50% it was nail-biting intensity. It brought much needed attention to the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women movement. I think the podcast bit could have been removed easily as well as the anonymous viewpoint.

This is told in 2 timelines, now & 1970's Italy/Russia. I didn't care anything about any of the current characters. They bored me even with all their secrets coming to light. The historical timeline (having a hard time thinking of the 70s as historical 😆) ended up being far more interesting to me. And heartbreaking. Also this was set on the Orient Express but there wasn't a sense of place for the train. They could have been staying in hotels ⬇️

This was my last book of 2024, and it was a great one. It's a suspenseful fiction murder mystery that also brings awareness to the very real issue of the high rate of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) cases that go unsolved in this country. I thought it was respectfully done.

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@Cupcake12

Cleopatra Fox continues to solve mysteries, its 1900 and she should be looking for a husband- but instead has the slowest of slow burn romances with a fellow detective. Her family and friends (the hotel staff) continue to play a big part in these books.

The beginning of the book was so… just not there that I almost couldn‘t keep going. The rest of the book made up for it but I don‘t think many could get past it the beginning. Just an okay story.

Finished this one Sunday with my mom- and I liked this one better. Cleo still annoys me with some of the inconsistencies the author uses for voice- very independent but sometimes very stilted. But the author uses others perspectives to help her grow. The mystery was good- and not quite who i thought it would be. I like that the family owns and lives in a hotel and how the staff interact.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Heard about this book on the Murder in America Podcast. A Canadian doctor murders her American doctor boyfriend in Pennsylvania, then flees to Canada. The extradition process is a nightmare, and here‘s the kicker, she‘s pregnant with his baby. Penned by the victim‘s dad, David Bagby, this is well organized and written, and beyond a memoir, it‘s also a commentary on the justice system failures which resulted in the death of a baby.

This is an absolutely excellent read — a penetrating look at the very real issue of MMIW, while at the same time a fantastically woven mystery. The frustration and desperation over the missing and murdered in the story felt very real, visceral, and the need for answers was entirely believable. The teens took on a bit more than I think they actually would, but I get that‘s for the purpose of storytelling… 👇🏻